How DO you plateau?

Oishii
Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm on maintenance now and seem to be really bad at staying the same weight. To those of you who have plateaued, how did you do it? It may not have been intentional, but what was your secret?

Replies

  • sharilgreen
    sharilgreen Posts: 20
    From what I hear you have to switch up your routine. Your body gets use to working out the same muscles. Could also make a slight change in your diet or just work out more, but im no doctor haha!
  • sophieshaped
    sophieshaped Posts: 228 Member
    A plateau is not the same as maintenance... :o)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i am a pound off maintenance, but when i get there i will allow a pound either side for exactly that reason!

    i just think u need to stick to a routine for a couple of weeks, and if u gain or lose more than a couple of pounds then review what u have done and increase/decrease your cals or exercise a little.
  • anu_6986
    anu_6986 Posts: 702 Member
    A plateau is not the same as maintenance... :o)

    True :)
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Is no one going to tell me how they think they plateaued?
  • lcarter25
    lcarter25 Posts: 286 Member
    well i plateau by not eating enough not sure if that helps
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Thank you! I've been wondering if I should try eating less, but I don't want to lose more. I think I might visit a nutritionist...
  • sophieshaped
    sophieshaped Posts: 228 Member
    I plateaued despite eating my calorie allowance, eating most or all of my exercise cals, upping my exercise, etc etc etc... the point is that people who plateau are usually still in 'diet' mode and not in maintenance mode.

    Hence we can't really tell you how we plateaued as a form of advice for you to maintain.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Thank you! I've been wondering if I should try eating less, but I don't want to lose more. I think I might visit a nutritionist...

    i dont think thats a v good idea... if u then eat more your body will cling to the fat and you will definitely put on weight.
  • jesshall281
    jesshall281 Posts: 219
    ok, you plateau when your body is so used to your routine, like your calories a day, your exercise, if its exactly the same every day at the same time for the same amount of time...your body gets used to it, thats how you plateau...

    Like someone said, maintenance and plateau are different things
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    i think there is a fine balance as to how much you can eat to losing weight or not putting on weight. mine is around about 1600 calories a day when i exercise. maybe 1400 if not exercising.

    if you've been losing weight for a while, you should know what you need to eat to lose a little, it'll just be a couple of hundred extra calories than that.

    when I get to maintenance stage, i want to cut down my exercise from 4-5 x heavy 1 hour sessions to maybe 3 heavy sessions a week and maybe a bit of light walking or light cycling here and there. i'd like to be able to take my foot off a bit on the exercise without giving it up, so i'll presume that i need to keep eating the same as when i'm trying to lose if i cut my exercise down a bit.

    i also agree with having a range, i intend on maintaining between 68-70kg, because of the normal fluctuations, it's pointless stressing if you put on a little, but also to have a limit where you have to knuckle down before you have to let the notch in the belt out.
  • sunnysashka
    sunnysashka Posts: 296
    Hi, here is my old post about plateau. It is a good article.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/sunnysashka/view/do-not-get-discouraged-or-what-plateau-is-26549
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    I'm trying to NOT lose, so I wondered if people who had not lost for a while could help. What seems to happen is that if I stick to a certain number of calories for a while, after a short plateau, I lose again. I thought I was maintaining on 2350, but, as always seems to happen, I suddenly lost a pound again.

    Any tips?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I'm trying to NOT lose, so I wondered if people who had not lost for a while could help. What seems to happen is that if I stick to a certain number of calories for a while, after a short plateau, I lose again. I thought I was maintaining on 2350, but, as always seems to happen, I suddenly lost a pound again.

    Any tips?

    so try 2450 for a couple of weeks... if ti happens again, try 2550
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
    I'm trying to NOT lose, so I wondered if people who had not lost for a while could help. What seems to happen is that if I stick to a certain number of calories for a while, after a short plateau, I lose again. I thought I was maintaining on 2350, but, as always seems to happen, I suddenly lost a pound again.

    Any tips?

    Chances are you are just seeing normal fluctuation based on water retention, stomach content, bladder content, bowel content, etc. When someone says they weight 125lbs, they don’t ALWAYS weight 125lbs, you will naturally fluctuate roughly 1-3lbs, sometimes more. So if your goal is to stay 125lbs, you should consider anything from 122lbs to 128lbs as normal.
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    For the last month or so, I track my weight everyday first thing in the morning. And then I use the stability of that to figure out how much I should eat and exercise. I got to be pretty steady with about at most 1lb up or down from day to day. For me, that requires net cals to be about 100 less than MFP gave me. You should figure out what yours is.

    I usually give myself a bigger range to work with. My goal was 133lbs so I'm happy as long as I'm between 130 and 135.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    well i plateau by not eating enough not sure if that helps

    Me too, I don't recommend it!
  • Bermudabarbie
    Bermudabarbie Posts: 568 Member
    I believe Greg is correct. My Maintenance weight is 135. My maintenance calories are 1770 before exercise. In fact my range is 131 - 137. When I find myself eating below 1400 calories for 5 days or more a week, I usually will see myself drop to the low end of my range. I don't want my BMI to fall into the underweight category. But if I work at eating my full amount of calories (and still staying under in sugars/fats/ sodium), I usually bounce back to 135 or 136. Maintenance takes work too. No one stays at one exact weight every day. Allow yourself a 5 pound range. Be honest about your calories. If you are going 300 or 400 under your maintenance goal each day on a regular basis, you are going to continue to lose. But if you are consistently reaching your calories, a 5 pound "range" seems 100% normal. I am thinking of adding protein shakes to my diet on the days I can't reach my calorie goals. Maybe something like that would help you too. Just make sure you are consistently eating your full calories each day. Hope this helps!
  • cownancy
    cownancy Posts: 291
    By definition, a plateau is not something you try to do, it's something that happens when you are have been losing weight and suddenly the routine you've been following is not working anytime. Sometimes it lasts a week and sometimes months. It is not a permanent situation, usually. What you want to do it learn how to stabilize your weight once you have reached your goal.

    It might take you a little bit of time to find the right caloric balance to maintain a particular weight. I have not had this problem before so I can't answer you, but thought you might want to make sure you use the correct terminology in order to get your question answered. A nutritionist would be your best best. Take your food diaries with you.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    I'm trying to NOT lose, so I wondered if people who had not lost for a while could help. What seems to happen is that if I stick to a certain number of calories for a while, after a short plateau, I lose again. I thought I was maintaining on 2350, but, as always seems to happen, I suddenly lost a pound again.

    Any tips?

    Chances are you are just seeing normal fluctuation based on water retention, stomach content, bladder content, bowel content, etc. When someone says they weight 125lbs, they don’t ALWAYS weight 125lbs, you will naturally fluctuate roughly 1-3lbs, sometimes more. So if your goal is to stay 125lbs, you should consider anything from 122lbs to 128lbs as normal.

    I ignore the fluctuations up, but I don't want to be any lighter, so down bothers me. I noticed my face looking thinner before I weighed myself, so I think it is probably beyond that fluctuation level.

    Plus, if I 'fluctuated' a pound down when I was losing, I would have called it a loss, I would have been congratulated and thought my calories were just right for weight loss. I suppose the other question is, which is your 'real' weight? The high, the low or the middle?

    I really hate to lose now. A little gain is fine, and I might find I go straight back down, but with a loss I'm scared I won't bounce back up.
  • sharilgreen
    sharilgreen Posts: 20
    What is maintenance??!!!!
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    By definition, a plateau is not something you try to do, it's something that happens when you are have been losing weight and suddenly the routine you've been following is not working anytime. Sometimes it lasts a week and sometimes months. It is not a permanent situation, usually. What you want to do it learn how to stabilize your weight once you have reached your goal.

    It might take you a little bit of time to find the right caloric balance to maintain a particular weight. I have not had this problem before so I can't answer you, but thought you might want to make sure you use the correct terminology in order to get your question answered. A nutritionist would be your best best. Take your food diaries with you.

    I understand the difference in terms, but if some people can't lose weight and some people don't want to lose weight, I thought the former might be able to help the latter.

    From a biological point of view, what is the difference between plateauing and maintaining?
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    What is maintenance??!!!!

    Managing to stay at your goal weight
  • cutie2b
    cutie2b Posts: 194 Member
    Exercise less...skip workouts.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    What is maintenance??!!!!

    Managing to stay at your goal weight
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    Don't worry about slight fluctuations. Look at your "maintenance weight" as more of a range. I'd say go with a 6 to 10 pound range, with your ideal weight being right in the middle. It's nearly impossible to maintain the exact same weight every day for the rest of your life. Plateaus happen when the body is not working properly, so that's not something you want to strive for. Just keep an eye on your weight, continue to weigh in once a week or so, and when you see your weight fluctuating, you can make adjustments to your diet and activity. Also keep in mind that MFP's guidelines for your BMR and TDEE won't be 100% accurate, so you may need to play with your numbers to find the calorie intake that's right for you.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    A plateau is not the same thing as maintenance. You will have some fluctuation even in maintenance mode. You should keep your goal to be +/- about 5lbs. you should also set you goal to maintain and eat ALL your calories (you are not trying to lose anymore)


    Sorry I'm not able to give advice on how to trigger a plateau. I have read posts where people said they were going to do a forced plateau, but all they did to do that was go on maintenance mode. That doesn't seem like much different than what we are all saying to do, but I hope it helps.

    Congrats on reaching your goal.
    Best wishes.
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    Would it help if you put on 2 extra pounds and try to maintain there? Would that cause you less worry when you lose a little due to fluctuations? I have the opposite problem... I get stressed when I gain a little so I go a little below my goal weight so I have room to gain. I think part of my problem is that I feel like I get very few calories for maintenance (1550 net cals at 133 lbs) so it's hard to keep the net cals steady.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    perhaps your maintenance is wrong...re calculate and adjust
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Thanks, Menchi. Right now I am 2lb lower than my goal weight, but it's like my body doesn't want to stay at my GW. I'll think I'm maintaining there, and then I drop 2lb in the space of a week! Then, so far, I eat like crazy to go back up. This time I want to take it in a more controlled manner and up the calories calmly instead.

    For me, 'calculating' calories hasn't ever worked. I need so much more than calculators think.
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